The year 2012 marks the centenary of the African National Congress, the political party that grew out of the resistance movement to segregation, disenfranchisement and apartheid. The Free State will host the traditional annual January statement made by the party, and its important national conference in December. The founding venue of the party in Waaihoek, Bloemfontein, will form an important part of the anniversary celebrations.

The story of the origins of the governing party is a reminder of one of the enduring attributes of the Free State Province – its geographic centrality. This made Bloemfontein the logical place to gather for respected leaders from all over what was then the new country of South Africa back in 1912. This fact is proving to be an economic asset for a province that is in the process of re-engineering its economy away from an over-dependence on agriculture and mining.

New economic drivers being targeted include logistics, ICT, innovation and research, agri-processing and manufacturing in sectors such as pharmaceuticals.

The Free State Development Corporation (FDC) is active in attracting new investment to the province. In 2011, the FDC signed a memorandum of understanding with the South Africa Netherlands Chamber of Commerce (SANEC) which aims to increase bilateral trade. Individual companies from the two countries will also be matched with a particular emphasis on agri-processing, chemical manufacture and tourism.

The Sasolburg complex in the province’s northern section is a highly industrialised and efficient focus of high-level production. As the headquarters of Sasol, and the site of the company’s wax and chemical plants, the town is a major contributor to South Africa’s manufacturing sector. Several other chemical companies operate in the town. ChemCity is a business incubator downstream project promoting the sustainable use of by-products from Sasol’s many plants.

Sasol has recently made a series of investments to increase its capacity, with the wax-production project representing the single biggest investment in any one project in the province’s history.

Logistics
The Free State shares boundaries with six other provinces and the neighbouring country of Lesotho. Important road and rail links traverse the province including two of the busiest national highways, the N1 (Cape Town-Johannesburg) and the N3 (Durban-Johannesburg).

The province is exploiting this strategic position through two major initiatives: the N8 Corridor and the Harrismith Logistical Hub (HLH). Bloemfontein is in the middle of N8 road route linking Kimberley in the Northern Cape with the Lesotho capital of Maseru in the east. Places such as Bloemfontein Airport and Botshabelo industrial area are earmarked for development.

The HLH is making a virtue of what is now a very crowded intersection of the N3 and N5 highways carrying huge volumes of freight. A multimodal hub is planned which will not only stimulate further enterprise but ease congestion. The modern and well-equipped truck stop in Harrismith, the Highway Junction, is the biggest facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) aims to carry a higher proportion of South Africa’s cargo – it currently carries about 14% of long-haul containers and 12% of total freight – and 16 trains now run along the Durban-Johannesburg line compared to three in 2007. However, there are 6 000 heavy freight vehicles that ride the same route every day, and almost all of these trucks pass through Harrismith.

Mining and agriculture were for many decades the bedrock of the Free State economy. The north-western part of the province sits on top of a rich gold-bearing reef over 400 kilometres long, known as the goldfields region. South Africa is the world’s largest gold producer, and the country’s largest gold-mining complex is Free State Consolidated Goldfields, with an area of 330 square kilometres.

Large percentages of South Africa’s agricultural production, particularly grains, originate in the Free State. More than half the nation’s sorghum, nearly half the sunflower and more than 30% of all wheat, maize, potatoes and groundnuts come from the fertile plains of the western and northern Free State, while the valleys of the east produce almost all of South Africa’s cherries and asparagus. Livestock and flowers are other important agricultural products.

Critical to re-engineering the Free State economy is the need to build manufacturing capacity. In agri-processing, a number of opportunities exist. Some products that are being explored are cherries, asparagus, vegetables, wholesale meat, leather and increased seed production in the province’s eastern reaches.

Economic planning for the province is attempting to integrate industrial development, rural development and the creation of sustainable small, medium and micro enterprises.

Geography
The landscape is characterised by wide open spaces in the west and beautiful valleys in the foothills of the Maluti mountains in the east. The province is sparsely populated, with a population of less than three million people mostly living in the north and east of the province. Sotho is the most widely spoken language, followed by Afrikaans. The region receives its rainfall in summer but sometimes the west and south can experience drought.

The province is relatively well watered with the Vaal and Orange rivers defining its northern and southern boundaries. In addition, a network of smaller rivers run through the area and run-off from hills and mountains ensures that the good soils of the area are well irrigated.

The Gariep and Vaal dams are major sources of water and venues for recreation, as are the Free State’s lesser dams such as Sterkfontein, Allemanskraal and Kalkfontein. Tourism and aquaculture are just two potential income generators related to these water bodies.

Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality
Towns: Bloemfontein, Botshabelo, Thaba Nchu
This central region is the most urbanised of Free State districts and contributes approximately one third of the province’s GDP. The urban areas of Bloemfontein, Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu were declared as the Mangaung Metropolitan Muncipality in 2011. The area is a major driver of the Free State economy.

Botshabelo has a population of close to half a million and its position 55km from Bloemfontein is a classic example of the ideological planning of the apartheid era. Thaba Nchu has long been associated with tourism, especially through its proximity to the Maria Moroka Nature Reserve, but light industrial development is taking place at the Selosesha Industrial park.

Motheo District Municipality
Towns: Ladybrand, Wepener
The final stop-off point in South Africa for travellers going to Lesotho is the busy town of Ladybrand in the Mantsopa Local Municipality. Tweespruit is a major sunflower-seed production centre. In the Naledi Local Municipality, tourists are catered for on the Highlands of the Maluti Route. The steel bridge over the Caledon River at Wepener is a national monument.

Xhariep District Municipality
Towns: Trompsberg, Koffiefontein, Zastron, Philippolis, Edenburg, Fauresmith, Smithfield
The southernmost region of the Free State is a largely dry area with open grasslands predominating, although it is also home to the Gariep Dam, South Africa’s largest. Crops are produced in the northern parts of the district whereas sheep farming predominates in the south. Trompsburg has the second-biggest sheep-shearing barn in the country.

Diamonds, gravel and clay are mined at Koffiefontein. Jagersfontein is one of the first places where diamonds were found, and it has its own version of the Big Hole to prove it. The town of Bethulie is a good stopping-over place for tourists wanting to experience the water sports available on the Gariep Dam. The dam is also the site of aquaculture projects, which are intended to create employment and tackle food security. The nearby Tussen die Riviere Nature Reserve and the Mynhardt Game Reserve have a variety of wildlife in spectacular settings. Jacobsdal’s Landzicht winery has proved itself as a worthy producer of wine. San rock paintings and Anglo-Boer War sites are plentiful.

Fauresmith hosts an annual horse endurance race and Smithfield is the venue for a ‘BibberChill’ festival every winter.

Lejweleputswa District Municipality
Towns: Welkom, Virginia, Boshof, Christiana, Bultfontein, Bothaville
Mining is the most important economic activity in this area, also known as the Free State Goldfields, but it is also the most important maize-growing area in South Africa. Bothaville is the self-proclaimed Mielie Capital of South Africa but it is a name that is well-earned. It hosts an annual maize industry festival and conferences, and it is where Grain SA has its headquarters.

Mining town Welkom is the major urban centre in the district. The town of Virginia is the site of a jewellery school and it is intended that this will form the nucleus of a jewellery beneficiation hub. The area has tourist assets such as a holiday resort on the Allemanskraal Dam, the Goldfields Wine Cellar in Theunissen and the Willem Pretorious Game Reserve but there is potential for growth in the heritage sector.

Fezile Dabi District Municipality
Towns: Sasolburg, Parys, Kroonstad, Frankfort, Heilbron, Viljoenskroon
The chemical complex at Sasolburg is the economic driver in the district, which shares a border with Gauteng province along the Vaal River. The town of Heilbron is another important industrial centre and Frankfort does important agricultural processing work.

A good proportion of South Africa’s grain crop is sourced from this district and when the vast fields of sunflowers and cosmos flowers are in bloom, a marvellous vista is created. The Vaal River presents opportunities for yachting, rafting and resort-based enterprises. Parys is a charming town and Vredefort is home to a World Heritage Site – the Vredefort Dome where a meteor crashed to earth.

Thabo Mofutsanyana District Municipality
Towns: Phuthaditjhaba, Bethlehem, Clarens, Harrismith, Vrede, Ficksburg
Tourism and fruit farming are the two principal economic activities of this area, which is characterised by beautiful landscapes: the Maluti and the Drakensberg mountain ranges, wetlands in the north, well-watered river valleys and the plains of the north and west. The most famous asset is the Golden Gate National Park. Industrial activity is undertaken at Harrismith and Phuthaditjhaba, where the Free State Development Corporation is promoting investment.

The commercial centre of the district is Bethlehem while Clarens and Ficksburg have become famous for their artists and cherries respectively. Ficksburg has two asparagus factories and, with nearby Marquard, produces 90% of South Africa’s cherries. The north of the district has many sunflower seed farms.

The Basuto cultural village in Qwaqwa offers beautifully made crafts and rock paintings can be seen as illustrations of the artistic skills of much earlier inhabitants of the area.